The source image for our painting is the cover of Defenders #55; Marvel, 1978. We believe Gil Kane penciled this cover in a style very much informed by Jack Kirby. You can see the initials of a signature along the lower left edge.
We dug the weird headgear the Red Guardian sports on this cover as he trashes the world’s crappiest super-team. The cover is the best thing about this book, believe us. The inside is a train wreck. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! We got it for fifty cents to decorate our wall, and the cover inspired us.
Here is the original cover:
